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I need more convincing

Reader comment on item: [The Search for Moderate Islam:] A Reply to Lawrence Auster

Submitted by Kevin Graham (Brazil), Mar 31, 2005 at 07:55

In showing how Islam can be moderate, and obtain variant interpretations of the Quran, Dan provides the example of Sudanese reformer Mahmoud Muhammad Taha. Dan says these interpretations are "there for the taking," but who in their right mind would do so, given the fact that this reformer was murdererd for adopting them? This cuts to the heart of the issue.

Surely people can invent variant interpretations of just about anything. I don't think that is really a point of debate. Whether or not it is feasible to put these reforming ideas into practice in an environment such as Islam, is the question. The problem with Islam is tends to foster monolithic mass opinion and it universally shuns free thinking. Further, the Muslim sense of an unchanging, inerrant Quran is one of their main selling points. For them, that is what makes Islam better than Christianity, which, according to them, has changed with the wind according to variant interpretations and translations of the Bible. Muslims typically boast that the Quran is so holy that it has NEVER been changed because Allah would not allow it. So for a Muslim to concede the point and insist the Quran should be interpreted in light of new interpretations - or even worse, considerations of western expectations - well, is it any wonder the Islamic reformers of the last century can be counted on one hand?

Here are other examples of "reformers" speaking their mind. Muslim liberal Farag Foda was murdered in June 1992 by a mob for sharing his reforming ideas, and Sheikh Ahmad Ghazali from Al-Azhar testified on behalf of the murderer, insisting what was done was just according to Islam. Ala' Hamid was jailed, as was his publisher for printing an essay that the majority at Al-Azhar didn't like. He said, "My only crime is that I allowed myself to think." Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, another free thinker who spoke his mind, had his marriage dissolved on Sharia grounds that a Muslim woman couldn't remained married to an apostate. The repercussions always outweigh the benefits for those free thinking Muslims, which is why I need more convincing that Islam could ever see a meaningful "reform."

It cannot be over emphasized that nowhere on this planet can a Muslim feel secure in his reforming ideas. Even in the United States former or reforming Muslims are being persecuted or killed for their so-called "blasphemy" against Islam. And if we assume American Muslims can lead the way to reform, we have to remember that the 2-4 million American Muslims represent less than .5% of global Islam, and even there we have to deal with the fact that 80% of American Mosques are Wahhabi controlled. Where is a moderate voice? No. Where are those "influencial" moderate voices?
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Title Commenter Date Thread
Moderate Muslim and an ardent Zionist - Razak 'Abd al-Qader [6982 words]KeilaOct 16, 2020 13:54261000
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1Lawrence Auster's analysis is right on the mark!! [139 words]JaladhiMar 31, 2010 14:33169350
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slam - when politics enter ... [264 words]Muhammad ArshadMay 3, 2005 06:0721951
1I need more convincing [460 words]Kevin GrahamMar 31, 2005 07:5521263
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Moderate Islam: A Pipe Dream! [1235 words]A (Keen) Student of IslamMar 1, 2005 03:3220530
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Response to Bob's Comment [526 words]A (Keen) Student of IslamApr 3, 2005 15:5020530
A little proselytising for (keen) [118 words]Vic CoffeyMay 18, 2005 10:2220530
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Mr. Auster is right [138 words]JaladhiFeb 8, 2005 15:3620185
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I do not want to appease. [292 words]Alain Jean-MairetFeb 6, 2005 02:5220099
Alain Jean-Mairet's self-defeating reasoning [191 words]Lawrence AusterFeb 9, 2005 11:4620099
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you will know a tree (pearl) by it's fruits. [26 words]RichardFeb 4, 2006 22:2220099
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Reply to L. Auster strikes me as utterly inconsistent with his usual manner [300 words]
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Phil StanFeb 3, 2005 09:1220084
A most helpful clarification [166 words]Roger WT WilkinsonFeb 2, 2005 23:3620081
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I'm not so confident, sorry [303 words]Olivia M.Feb 1, 2005 01:4620024
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w/response from Daniel Pipes
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